Leadership

Nemours BrightStart! Leadership

Experience, expertise and a passion for helping children grow up healthy are all hallmarks of the Nemours BrightStart! leadership team.

Laura Bailet, PhD

Operational Vice President of Nemours BrightStart!

Dr. Bailet has many years of experience working with children with learning disorders. She established the Neurocognitive Assessment Program within the Division of Neurology at Nemours Children’s Specialty Care, Jacksonville, and directed this program for nearly 18 years before creating the Nemours BrightStart! initiative at the request of the Nemours Board of Directors.

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She is a licensed school psychologist and has expertise on a wide range of neurocognitive problems, including dyslexia, autism, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), nonverbal learning disabilities and learning disorders associated with various medical conditions. Dr. Bailet has conducted several research studies and published numerous peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters.

Dr. Bailet is a strong believer in Benjamin Franklin’s adage: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. She is the driving force behind Nemours BrightStart!’s unique and innovative program to promote reading success and prevent reading failure, by combining the fields of neuroscience, population health, child development and education to create powerful tools that level the playing field for all budding readers.

Dr. Bailet earned her undergraduate degree at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C., and her master’s and doctoral degrees from Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill.

She is a frequent speaker at local, state and national conferences and participates in many community presentations to educate the public about reading development, dyslexia and related topics. For these accomplishments, the Florida Times-Union selected her as the top “Change Agent” in Jacksonville in 2006. She also is the 2006 recipient of Jacksonville’s prestigious EVE Award for her success in creating the Nemours BrightStart!. She is currently a member of the Library of Congress Literacy Awards Advisory Board.

Lenora S. Gregory

Managing Director of Nemours BrightStart!

Lenora S. Gregory is the Managing Director of Nemours BrightStart!. Previous positions at Nemours included Manager of Special Projects in Corporate Services and Associate Director of Development for the Nemours Fund for Children’s Health.

Read More About Lenora S. Gregory

Other positions external to Nemours have included Vice President of Development and Head Start Director for Episcopal Children’s Services (ECS) and Chief of Children’s Services for the City of Jacksonville, Fla.

Mrs. Gregory is a co-founder of Family Care Connections, serves as Vice Chair of Florida Covering Kids, and is a member of the National Association for the Education of Young Children and the International Reading Association.

Mrs. Gregory holds a MS in Child Development and Family Relations from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro and a BS in Child Development from the University of Alabama. Lenora holds a Certificate in Fund Raising Management from The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University.

Lenora is actively involved in her community and state. She is a member of the Jacksonville Women’s Network, the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce, sustaining member of the Junior League of Jacksonville, co-founder of Family Care Connections, the Association for Fundraising Professionals, National Association for the Education of Young Children, and the International Reading Association. In 2007, she chaired the Jacksonville Public Library Foundation’s Much Ado About Books. Currently, Lenora serves as Vice Chair of the Florida Covering Kids and Families Coalition.

Kathy Ingram, MSW, CFRE

Director, Business Development & Community Engagement
for Nemours BrightStart!

Ms. Ingram was an Executive Director with Easter Seals before joining Nemours in 2003 — and moved to Nemours BrightStart! from the Nemours Fund for Children’s Health where she served as the Associate Director of Development.

Read More About Kathy Ingram

Earlier in her career, Ms. Ingram provided leadership for Northeast Florida nonprofit organizations addressing mental health, addictive disease, juvenile justice and physical rehabilitation. Ms. Ingram earned a bachelor’s degree in Social Work/Education and a master’s degree in Social Work Program Planning and Evaluation from Florida State University. She attained a Certificate in Fund Raising Management at Indiana University, and Proposal Writing at Rollins College. She is a Certified Fund Raising Executive and a Registered Clinical Intern (social work).

Ms. Ingram is a member for the Association of Fundraising Professionals, and the Association of Healthcare Philanthropy,
Grants Professionals Network, Jacksonville Community Council, Inc, and volunteers her time with a Ponte Vedra Environmental group and her church.

Ms. Ingram lives in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., with her Pug, Marley, enjoys creative writing and kayaking, and is studying to become a Florida Master Naturalist.

Carol Quick, EdD

Director of Education and Community Initiatives
for Nemours BrightStart!

Carol Quick, EdD, attended the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh earning her BS in Special Education. She received her MS in Early Childhood Education and a doctorate in Organizational/Educational Leadership from Nova Southeastern University. She also earned National Board Certification as an Early Childhood Generalist and certification in Educational Leadership.

Read More About Dr. Quick

Dr. Quick started her professional career as a special education teacher in Chesapeake, Va. She moved to Florida where she earned her master's degree in early childhood education. For the next 13 years, she operated an Early Childhood Education Training Program at a post secondary institute in Orlando. Upon moving to Osceola County, Fla., she served as a program specialist and then district coordinator for Early Learning and Extended Day with the School District of Osceola County.

Dr. Quick was a pioneer in bringing the Nemours BrightStart! educational curriculum district wide to prekindergarten students within public school prekindergarten classrooms. She stays current in her field by engaging in professional organizations including International Reading Association, National Association for the Education of Young Children, and Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Dr. Quick is active in her Rotary Club, having served as Club President as well as a member of numerous committees. In her leisure time, Carol enjoys spending time outdoors boating, canoeing, hiking, biking and gardening. She also enjoys traveling, both in the United States and abroad.

Nemours BrightStart! Advisory Council

The Nemours BrightStart! Advisory Council brings together a diverse range of backgrounds, expertise and knowledge, all focused on our mission: To provide leadership, advocacy, research and services to reduce the effects of dyslexia and reading failure.

Dana Ferrell Birchfield joined Nemours in 1990 and serves as the administrator of education services and the director of government relations for Nemours. She has a bachelor's degree in business administration and a master's degree in health services administration.

Dr. Will Blechman is a rheumatologist who developed a major interest in children's issues as a result of his work with Kiwanis, developing the organization's ongoing worldwide program Young Children: Priority One.

Judge Karen K. Cole of the Fourth Judicial Circuit is a past chair of the statewide Family Courts Steering Committee and serves on the national board of the nonprofit International Dyslexia Association.

Laura Ward Crooks has a long and distinguished career in education, including teaching college, starting a school for neurologically impaired preschoolers, supervising student-teachers at the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind and consulting on early literacy for the Florida Institute of Education.

Kim Kelling Engstrom is the Director of Educational Services at WFSU-TV, a PBS member station in North Florida. She is the community face of the station, connecting families and educators to the wealth of educational content available through public media.

Nathaniel Glover Jr. made history by being elected as the first African-American sheriff in Florida in more than 100 years. Since retiring from the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office in 2003, Sheriff Glover serves on several boards, including Fresh Ministries, Hope Haven and The Bridge of Northeast Florida. He also serves on the board of trustees for Edward Waters College.

Deborah Gianoulis Heald is best known in the Jacksonville, Fla., area for the 25 years she anchored the evening news on WJXT Channel 4. Since retiring from television in 2004, Deborah has devoted most of her time to early literacy through Episcopal Children's Services (ECS), where she is currently the foundation board chair.

Dr. Pat Howard's long career in school psychology culminated in her service as director of assessment programs for the Florida Center for Reading Research at Florida State University. Dr. Howard's professional interests include early assessment of pre-reading and reading skills, prevention, and early instruction of reading, and other academic problems through instruction assistance teams.

Carol Nash Humphrey, after college and a career in urban planning, undertook the early childhood education of her two daughters — both of whom have dyslexia. Carol is also dyslexic as is her father. She is certified to teach children with dyslexia utilizing multisensorial techniques.

Dr. Helen Jackson is the director of the Community Nutrition Services Division for the Duval County Health Department. Her specialty has been public administration and nutrition with a strong focus on women, infants and children. She has been with the Duval County Health Department in Jacksonville, Fla., for nearly 20 years.

Kathy LeRoy is the chief officer of academic services in Duval County Public Schools in Florida. Her responsibilities include all curriculum areas, ESE, ESOL, assessment and testing, and alternative education. Previously, she served as the chief officer of mathematics and science and managed all aspects of the K-12 mathematics and sciences program for Duval County Public Schools.

Sarah Sprinkel is the Senior Associate of Florida Services for Florida Virtual Schools. Commissioner Sprinkel generates a new enthusiasm for the potential of online learning. Her assignment includes planning goals, objectives, activities and timelines for FLVS’ launch into elementary education. To perform that job, she brings insights gained as both a classroom teacher and a program manager.

Dr. Julie A. Washington is a professor in the Department of Educational Psychology and Special Education-Program in Communication Disorders at Georgia State University. Dr. Washington has a joint appointment in Developmental Psychology and is an affiliate faculty member with the Language and Literacy Initiative. Dr. Washington's work has focused on understanding cultural dialect use in young African American children with a specific emphasis on language assessment, Specific Language Impairment and academic performance.

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